Two teens face multiple charges in connection with Altona burglaries

Wednesday

May 8, 2013 at 6:18 PMMay 8, 2013 at 6:20 PM

Galva, Galesburg residents charged

GateHouse News Service

Over a two-day period in December, two teens are accused of going on a crime spree ranging from theft to residential burglary, and they appeared in Knox County Court Tuesday to hear the charges against them.Jamar Trent Whiteside-Banks, 18, of Galva, and Brandon James Kenney, 18, of Galesburg, appeared before Judge James Standard via video as he read out the 26 identical charges against them.Warrants were issued late last week for the two arrests on multiple counts, according to the Knox County Sheriff’s Department.The most serious are three counts each of residential burglary, a Class 1 felony punishable by four to 15 years in prison upon conviction. The pair is alleged to have burglarized residences on Johnson Pyle Drive, Melody Lane and Filmore Street in Altona between Dec. 14-16, 2012.They are each also charged with one count of burglary and eight counts of burglary to motor vehicles, which are Class 2 felonies. The teens are also charged with 13 counts of theft, the majority of which are misdemeanor charges.They are accused of taking televisions, a computer, wallets, GPS units, an iPod, a tablet, a camera, a .22-caliber rifle and a portable DVD player, officials said.During the two-day period, police received reports of 30 burglaries in Altona, which officials said at the time were potentially related to approximately 40 other December burglaries in Galva, LaFayette, Knoxville and Henderson.Whiteside-Banks and Kenney are currently only charged in connection with Altona-related incidents, although the Knox County Sheriff’s Department has said additional charges and arrests are possible as the investigation continues.Both teens told the judge on Tuesday they were not employed and were subsequently assigned public defenders; James Harrell was appointed to Kenney’s case, while Karl Johnson was appointed to represent Whiteside-Banks.Both defendants are scheduled to appear at 11 a.m. Friday and are being held in the Knox County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bonds. They would need to post 10 percent to be released.